The cleansing of Percy Wetmore
by Lucyinthesky1996
Summary: When Percy was touched by John Coffey, his punishment was that he became a part of him. Paul is unnerved by his change in character. Alternate ending to The Green Mile.
1. Chapter 1

Wild Bill got what he deserved. I would never wish death upon someone; I'm not that sort of person. But when those bullets were fired into his chest, when the floor was stained with his blood, I felt nothing but relief. Relieved because he was finally in hell where he belonged. John had showed me what he'd done and I hoped God punished him with all his glory. Justice was served. But at the same time, injustice still lingered in the shadows.

Everything was different after that. Nothing was the same anymore.

For one thing, E Block was stone quiet with the absence of Wild Bill's hollering. So quiet that it left a chill in the air which I was afraid of. I suppose that's what happens after something you're used to suddenly goes away; you miss it, even if it's a bad thing. I loathed Wild Bill's voice, but anything was better than the bitter silence that he left behind him.

Brutal didn't miss the noise at all. There was little for him to do now that he wasn't stuck babysitting a psychopath, so he spent most of his time playing cards in the den with Dean and Harry. I didn't know what to do with myself, so I just floated in the background for a bit and occasionally John would call me to his cell and we would talk about things that weren't really important but seemed worth discussing. But John's requests for my presence were becoming rare. This was unusual, as he enjoyed human interaction – I mean, besides from Mr. Jingles, he was pretty much alone in solitary confinement – and I wondered if there was something up with him, something wrong.

I hardly saw Percy anymore either. He'd been mute ever since the incident and though the doctors had managed to bring him round from his catatonic state, his mouth refused to work and his tongue locked behind his teeth and stayed there. There was hardly any colour left in his eyes and face. He never looked anyone directly in the eye and if he did, the stare would turn your blood cold. Brutal came to the daft conclusion that he was possessed with something but after a while I began to fear this joke was true. He was literally out of it and passed through everyone like a ghost that had lost its way to heaven.

My question was answered when I went to visit John's cell one afternoon; he hadn't called for me in two days, so I decided to go and visit him myself. Again, E Block was full of eerie silence and it bothered me; I hoped it could be brightened with some light conversation with John, even if it wasn't quite intelligent conversation.

There was a surprise waiting for me when I arrived at his cell; Percy was sitting there, cross legged, head leaned back against the iron bars behind him. Someone was speaking but it wasn't him and I realised that he was listening to John talking. He didn't look alert, but I knew he was listening. Just sitting there, drinking in every word. I was unsure of what Coffey was babbling on about but it must have been something interesting as Percy was not one to be drawn in by dull words. There was something unsettling about it as well. It was as if Percy was unsure of where he was. And I wondered for a moment if he couldn't help being there; that there was something keeping him there, forcing him to sit and not move a muscle.

"Percy…" I said as gently as I could, not wanting to stir him from his trance, "Mind if I talk to Coffey alone?"

He didn't even look at me; he turned his head and peered up at John between the bars, like a dog awaiting approval from its master.

"S'alright Percy," John said in his usual husk tone and Percy slowly scurried off, giving us our privacy.

"You haven't called me lately, John." My lips twitched into a smile, "Summin' wrong?"

"I's been busy, Boss." He replied, going and sitting himself on the bed in the corner of the cell, "Me an' Mr. Jingle, we been busy talkin' of Mouseland and things."

I observed the brindle coloured mouse in his cupped hand and my smile widened. But there was something else on my mind.

"John…" I dropped my voice to a lower level, in case anyone was hovering nearby, "Percy's been actin' strangely lately. Do you know why?"

He observed the ceiling for a couple of minutes and slowly sunk back into his state of peace; I waited for him to come back to earth and when he did his eyes were dark and shiny.

"Percy was a wicked, wicked boy, Boss."

I wondered if I had heard him properly. It didn't seem like something he would say, yet those words had definitely passed his lips. Though, I can't say that I disagreed with him.

"He was very wicked," Coffey went on, "He was my opposite, Boss. He was small on the outside but a giant on the inside. He did mean things. He crushed Del's mouse. He were cold to touch, Boss." He shifted on the bed and fell quiet again; I knew I would have to be patient before he continued and eventually, after doing some more staring, he did, "But I took it all outta him, Boss. I took all the bitterness outta him, all the hate."

"God, John." I said in my shock, "Is that what you did when you touched 'im? He's like a shadow now, you sucked out too much."

"He's healin', Boss." Coffey replied, "But he feels good inside, he told me."

Mr. Jingles wriggled out of his hold and up his arm until he reached his shoulder to perch on. John began feeding him a peppermint, probably delivered by Dean, and as the mouse began gnawing he spoke again.

"Percy was wicked, Boss. He were a baby-faced Devil. But inside, Boss, he has a heart as sweet as strawberries. Trouble is, he spent a lotta time listenin' to this," his forefinger reached up and pointed to his head, "and didn't spend enough time listenin' to this," his finger moved down again, hovering over his heart, "He had a big dog temper, Boss; but with puppy eyes to go with it."

"Yeah…" I realised his words made sense, "Yeah, I suppose…"

I decided I didn't want to talk anymore. I was unsure of what I was even saying anymore, nothing made sense. I heard the scuffling of feet and Percy's curious head poked around the side of the wall, nervously studying me. I realised he hadn't left at all.

"You can come on out, Percy," I said, remembering to keep my voice gentle, "I'm goin'."

"He can't go too far without me, Boss." John said, more to himself than me, "He's says it hurts if he wanders away too far. We're attached now you see. Like with string – except it's invisible string."

I was unsure of how to respond, so I kept my mouth shut for once. Percy watched me silently like a cat, eyes almost distrusting as I slowly edged around him. He resumed his position beside the cell door and crossed his legs again, like a child waiting to hear a story. He would stay there all night, I knew it, and in the morning I would find him curled up there, asleep outside the cell door with John Coffey watching over him as he had been all night.

I had no words for it.


	2. Chapter 2

I had started counting down the days before John's execution. I didn't really want to, but it seemed right. It seemed to slow down time a bit. But of course I was aware that it was going to happen, whether time dragged on or not.

I sometimes wondered if Percy was aware of John's upcoming execution. It wasn't something he really spoke about; in fact, he hardly spoke at all anymore. He spent all his time sitting outside John's cell, listening to him talk. He looked different, too much like a child, always staring into the empty cell opposite with a blank face. The only time I ever saw any expression was when he was looking at John; something just changed in his eyes when he looked at the large black man. He looked fairly content but at the same time deeply afraid.

I thought about what John said about the invisible string and realised what he meant when I looked at Percy. I realised that he couldn't move away from the cell door. There was something keeping him there, something I couldn't see. And I wondered if this was his punishment for being wicked. I wondered if John had intended for this to happen.

I wondered and for the first time, I felt sorry for the boy.


	3. Chapter 3

The morning of the execution, I was walking around in a haze.

I didn't know what to do with myself; my first instinct was to run away but I knew I couldn't do it, I knew I couldn't abandon Coffey to his fate. Surely I had been in this job long enough to be able to stomach another execution? At that moment, I wasn't so sure.

"It's time."

I turned from the mirror and glanced at Brutal, not quite meeting his eyes. I wasn't prepared for this. None of us were. But it had to be done.

Percy was sitting outside the cell as he usually did and when he saw us coming, a sense of fear flickered across his eyes; but Coffey came out without a struggle and allowed the chains to be placed around his arms and legs. Before we took him, Percy reached up both hands and John took them in his own giant paws.

"Ya'll be fine," he said with a voice like honey, "As long as ya'll listen to this," his hand reached over and touched the man's heart, "Ya'll be fine."

Percy watched him without blinking and with great reluctance, let go of his hands. I think he stayed there all through the execution, because Brutal commented that when he went there afterwards to collect Mr. Jingles, he found Percy in John's cot, clutching the bed sheets as if it were a baby, quietly sobbing.


	4. Chapter 4

I knew that John's execution would be my last. I couldn't stomach the job anymore. I decided that another month and I would be out. It was best for everyone; what use was I floating around as if I didn't know where I was?

There was a new prisoner in, accused of murdering his white boss; Jethro Clarke, tall, heavy built. I couldn't even look him in the eye. He reminded me too much of Coffey. I wouldn't stick around when he walked The Green Mile, I would make sure of that.

We were in the office taking down his details; Brutal, Dean, Harry and I, when Percy entered in silence and stared at all our faces. This was the first we'd seen of him in a while. He looked like he'd been dunked in a bath; his skin was clammy, his hair hadn't been tended to and there was something about his body language that I found unnerving.

He watched us for a long while and then turned his attentions to Clarke; for a moment he approached the black man and stared up at him in false hope, then realised it wasn't who he thought it was and stepped back. He began his hunt again and we all watched him as he glanced around every corner and even crouched on all fours and looked under the table.

"Percy?"

His eyes flickered, but didn't quite meet my own.

"Are you lookin' for summin'?" I asked in confusion.

"Not summin'," he replied, "Someone."

"He's gone loopy," Brutal muttered to me, "He's been padding around the place like a lost kitten all day."

I already knew who he was looking for. He disappeared for a while and I eventually found him sitting outside John's old cell, staring through the bars with intense concentration.

"You waitin' for someone?"

He nodded, not turning to look at me, "I'm waitin' for Coffey."

My suspicions confirmed, I sighed, "I thought as much."

"He's been gone a long while," Percy went on, "I want him back. When's he comin' back, Paul?"

"Percy…he aint ever-"

"He said he wasn't ever gonna leave," he went on, as if I hadn't spoken, "He said he'd always be here." His hand went to his chest, fingers digging into the front of his uniform, "He said he'd never leave, Paul."

I knew that now wasn't the time to remind Percy that John had walked the green mile. I knew that Percy was aware of what had happened; he just wasn't taking it in.

"Mind if I wait with you?"

He didn't respond so I took a seat on the floor next to him, eyes diverting over to the cell where Wild Bill – who'd have usually been demanding a drink right about that hour – used to be shut up in. I knew the silence bothered Percy as well. His lips kept twitching awkwardly, hands fiddling with the buttons on his coat.

"Wild Bill was an awful man, Paul."

"I know he was, Percy."

"I saw what he did, y'know." He turned and for the first time we made eye contact, "What he did to those little girls. John showed me Paul. He showed me when he touched me. That's why I had to get rid of Wild Bill – I didn't want him hurtin' nobody no more," his head cocked to the side like a dog, "Did I do good, Paul?"

My breathing hitched and I replied, "Yeah Percy," while reaching out to ruffle his hair, "you did good. You did good."

I think we sat there for about an hour, sometimes talking, sometimes sitting in stony silence. Mr. Jingles, now an orphan, came crawling out from beneath the bars of Coffey's cell, travelled up Percy's arm and ended his journey on his shoulder. To my surprise, Percy didn't even flinch.

"It was painful, Paul." He said out of the blue, gently reaching up to touch the mouse, "When all the lights started flashin'…I started feelin' this terrible pain."

I realised he was talking about the execution, "What sorta pain?"

"Like I was bein' ripped in half." He shuddered, "As if…part of me was bein' torn out, y'know? And now…now I feel like summin's missin.' Inside, y'know? It were the worst pain in the world. I'd rather die than feel that again, Paul."

I glanced down at the floor, picturing a piece of string being swiftly cut, leaving Percy with only half a soul.

"Y'know Perce…" I said quietly, "John, he…he's not comin' back. He walked the green mile. He's gone forever."

Percy studied my face, then smiled like a child and shook his head, "Oh, no. That can't be right. John would never leave forever. He'll be comin' back, I know it. I can feel it."

I realised then that his denial was what kept him going; as long as he told himself that, he would go on believing it. It wouldn't do him any good; he could wait a thousand years for John Coffey to come back and he never would. But I suppose waiting gave him some peace of mind. I looked at Percy Wetmore and wondered what was going on in his head now; the only thing he used to think about was who he was going to hurt next. But John had taken all that out of him. He had cleansed him, made him pure.

Sighing, I gently tilted his head so it rested on my shoulder, fingers reaching up to touch his hair,"What're you thinkin' Percy?"

It was a while before he responded, as if he had to think carefully about it, but when he did answer his words put my mind at rest.

"Happy thoughts, Paul. Happy thoughts."


End file.
